


From cold to hot

by Valery_Riddle



Series: By the book [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alien Planet, Character Study, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2012-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-19 01:52:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valery_Riddle/pseuds/Valery_Riddle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third prince of the kingdom goes for a walk away from the castle to unwind. Cold weather gets him into trouble, but it also gets him to meet someone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From cold to hot

His stallion liked that cool spring morning enough to rear up every now and then, so that Tiren had to hold on the reins tightly and tap disapprovingly on his horse’s back with his long lizard tail instead of having it wrapped securely around his thigh. The Prince had been warned about going outdoors on such a cold day but went anyway. By now he had already regretted his choice and was frowning over a thought of heading back.  
His way was lying along a bank of a small though deep river, which Tiren regarded with a resentful expression for he could feel cold water even from where he was riding. The stallion reared up again and Tiren snarled at him, quite tired of the beast’s behavior. Sun save him from taming this idiotic horse out here alone should it feel the call of wild nature over the call of its master.  
Tiren yelped and hastily regained his seat, whipping the stallion with his tail yet again and glaring as the beast looked at him as if wounded to heart. All he wanted was to have some rest from the court and his family though he had to admit the air was growing colder than he expected and it was probably time to call this ride an end. Tiren shifted restlessly in his saddle, missing the fact that his stallion had no intention of standing still and losing his grip on the reins.  
Cold water soaked through his fancy clothes and the Prince struggled to get out of the river. His thrice cursed stallion happily ran away, quite content with himself. It was not like the prince could not swim but his body was freezing throughout, being slowly poisoned by cold. The lot of his heavy jewelry tugged him to the bottom and by the time he had got rid of it, his consciousness slipped and Tiren sank into deadly sleep.

***  
Tiren stirred with a groan, trying to lift his hand to his face but failing. His body felt like it was packed with stones, though when the Prince opened his eyes, the stones appeared to be plain thick blankets of those that a mere peasant might use.  
Tiren shifted, blushing slightly as he understood that he had no clothes on, so he had apparently been brought in and tucked into this bed with all due attentiveness. The question to be answered was who appeared to be actually warm enough to jump after Tiren into that sun-refused river to save him.  
The room he lied in looked clean and tended by a solicitous host, though the atmosphere itself lacked womanish touch from which Tiren concluded that his savior was a man, which was only logical as a woman would have shrieked over his body until he had drowned to the point of death. Tiren frowned – he was not very much into brainless ladies.  
The door opened and the Prince shifted as much as the bedding allowed to look at his benefactor. The sight that greeted him was startling. The man that came in was not a Lizard but a Salamander. An extinct kind, those, it was on a rare occasion when a Lizard woman gave birth to a child with stable and high body temperature. Salamanders were like a fireplace for Lizards like himself, Tiren thought, his tail lashing shamefully on that under the heavy blanket.  
“So, you are finally awake, your Slitherness”, the man smiled, setting a cup of hot steaming tea on the bedside table and reaching out to adjust Tiren’s pillows.  
The prince noted that he was addressed like a nobleman, not a son of the royal family. Which was probably for the better – the smaller was the gap between them. He must have lost his jewelry in the river, after all.  
“Thank you for saving me”, Tiren stated, studying the blanket rather than his savior. A hand landed on his forehead and he nearly jumped, but the Salamander was only checking his body temperature, it seemed.  
“Here”, he helped Tiren to sit up and pushed the hot cup into his hands. “Name’s Grun, by the way, nice to meet you”.  
Tiren observed Grun over his teacup, not sure whether he should reprimand such incivility or leave it be. The Salamander was completely at ease with the noble status of his patient. He even sat down on his bed and now was propping the blankets for more warmth.  
“Tiren”, the Prince responded, finally deciding he would be more comfortable the way his savior behaved at the moment.  
The Salamander bowed his head, showing that he had heard him, then rose again to take the cup away.  
“You should rest some, your Slitherness. Perhaps you need me to send some message to your castle?”  
“No need, they are accustomed to my periodical absence”. Tiren responded, pushing the end of his tail from under the blanket and studying it for several seconds. It was not blue as he thought it would be after such a cold bath but still of an unhealthy color. The Prince sighed and tucked it away.  
Grun bowed slightly though it looked more like a nod to Tiren and left.  
Clock ticked somewhere in the room next to his, gently coaxing him to fall asleep. Probably the tea contained some sleeping draft, Tiren thought, drifting away. What unexpected luck, to be saved instead of dying and surprisingly by a Salamander of all Lizards.

***  
He shifted, spreading his limbs that were tired of lying without any movement for this long and groaned lightly, opening his eyes.  
It was dark, apparently still some hours before dawn. Tiren’s body did not mind much when he sat up and decided to leave the bed. The room was empty and his clothes lay on a nearby chair, clean, dry and warm. Surprisingly, Grun seemed to have thought about everything his unexpected patient might require. Tiren noted that his scales were healthy yellow again, donning everything on clumsily as he was used to having servants do it for him back home.  
The next room was semi dark, flames in the fireplace only slightly breaking the veil of the night. It was obviously a study or what passed for it in a peasant’s house. Several benches stood along the walls, rough and uncomfortable and it suddenly dawned on Tiren that he was politely tucked into the host’s bed. Grun himself appeared to be sleeping in his armchair in front of his desk, his head had fallen to the side and the pose was totally painful to wake up in to the Prince’s taste.  
As if hearing Tiren’s thoughts, Grun stirred and opened his eyes, immediately creating an illusion of an absolutely awake person. He came up to the Prince and reached out to adjust his cravat; that was startling and unexpected.  
“I see you’ve slept well, your Slitherness”, Grun said softly, bringing other articles of the Price’s garment to order. “If you leave any time soon, you will probably be at your place just in time for breakfast”.  
Tiren murmured his agreement, feeling surprisingly embarrassed of being tended by this person he did not even know properly.  
“I need to do something before departing”, he squeezed out after Grun let him go.  
“I will show you the way then”, was the response and the host gave him another of those barely-bows.  
His stallion was tied loosely to a post not far from the door, looking furious at being hobbled. When Grun attempted to come nearer, the horse reared up, glaring at the Salamander.  
“They have never really liked me”, Grun sighed what seemed mockingly and firmly grasped the stallion’s reins, pulling. Surprisingly, the horse ceased with further resistance, looking half-frightened.  
“Your Slitherness?” he looked at Tiren and the Prince could swear he heard the traces of metal in that voice as if being himself tamed by that strong hand.  
“I… would like to take a walk to the place I’ve nearly drown in”, he said finally.  
Grun acknowledged his words with a nod and tugged the horse to follow them.

***  
The river was still there, Tiren thought with annoyance, and the sun had not dried it for an attempt to kill the third prince of the kingdom. The thing he was looking for surprisingly lay under the nearest bush – he must have just thrown it away while struggling with cold water. His chain with rubies and smaller emeralds that noted him as a son of the royal family – it was not even covered with dirt, must have landed on grass.  
“Forgive my impertinence, your Scaleness”.  
Tiren turned hastily to see that Grun did not even shift his behavior, smiling a bit and nodding as usual. Prince certainly expected him to change a lot, probably gain some humility, and what – nothing! Some nobility and royalty were dust under feet for Grun, it seemed.  
Again the Salamander adjusted the Princes attire and helped him mount. His cheeks burning slightly, Tiren inquired:  
“Has anyone ever told you you’re strange?”  
“Many times, your Scaleness”, Grun stated with a grin; the stallion made some noises as if sneering but otherwise stayed perfectly still. “Sun watch over you on your way home, Prince Tiren”.  
He hoped it would. His horse rode straight as if enchanted which it probably was. Grun indeed was strange. But he was also addictive.

***  
“Your mother fainted yesterday when she found out about your absence, little brother”, Oren came into his room, already without his regalia though he surely appeared from a meeting with the council to charge by his mood. “Where were you?”  
“Walking under the moonlight”. Tiren retorted, annoyed that he had to report to his own brother and his idiotic parent decided to act her favorite part again – suffering of a wounded mother.  
“Stop lying, brother”, Oren snapped at him – the first sign that his patience was running low. “You would have died should that have happened to be true. Or maybe somebody out there was warming your bed, hm?”  
‘You don’t even realize how much it is true’, Tiren thought grimly, finally letting his servants leave after they helped him with his midday attire.  
“You are being insolent, elder brother”, he stated, struggling to remain calm and never reveal what was going on in his mind.  
“And you are going nowhere until the weather is stable enough for you to take your rides”, Oren slammed both fists into the back of the chair Tiren had just been sitting on mere seconds ago. Then he just turned and left, shutting the door behind him. Tiren stared stubbornly after his elder brother, venomously thinking that if he wanted to leave he would be away the very moment he decided to.  
The Prince sighed and went out to stand on his balcony with the view on the private Palace Garden. Though it was probably not the best idea as the garden was far from silent, giggles rippling through warm air here and there.  
“Hey, Tiren”, another familiar voice called for him from below and the Price shifted impatiently, already thinking of an excuse to hide somewhere. “Have you finally decided to warm your scales in the sunlight like humble us?”  
The garden burst out with giggles again. The Prince glared from the balcony at his second brother, Daren, who was true to himself surrounded with pretty noblewomen, most of them the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting. Pretty, huh? Arrogant and flirtatious, every last one of them.  
“I can hardly surpass you in humbleness, Daren”, he said levelly, watching his brother joke something that made the women giggle in an entirely different way. Oh, Tiren would have happily left this place if he had been more capable of taking care of himself or at least had some servant he could trust and who could treat him in a more friendly way. Like Grun. Though Grun would have rather successfully made a royal himself, with his attitude to things.

***  
The evening drew closer and Tiren laid away the book he was pretending to be reading to close the balcony door as the chill was slowly slipping in. The Prince stood by the window for another second then hastily fetched his jacket which he liked the most as it was warm and started crawling down the ivy that grew near his balcony. They did not actually expect him to sit chained like a dog, now did they?  
Mounting his stallion, which he was thankfully capable of doing without any help, Tiren rode out of the palace. Winding his tail around his waist and buttoning his jacket up, he brought his horse into faster pace, hoping to reach his destination before it got too cold.  
Somewhere in the middle of his way the sky appeared to be densely covered with clouds and rain seemed about to start. Sun refuse this weather; was it a test for him or something? Like in, freeze or be frozen? Tiren bent lower, nearly lying on top of his horse and coaxing it to ride on. Far away thunder started roaring but the Prince did not raise his head to see if he could spot any lightning.  
It started pouring the very second he reached Grun’s threshold, wishing with all his might for the Salamander to be there. Grun opened the door the moment Tiren dismounted and hastily came up to him to help with the stallion.  
“Another unlucky trip, your Scaleness?” He inquired with a grin and though Tiren blushed and averted his gaze to conceal the actual reason of his arrival, he had a suspicion that the Salamander knew it anyway. “In you go; it’s no weather to stay outside”.  
The Prince recovered from the shock of being ordered around and entered the house, immediately heading to the crackling fireplace. After a moment he had his clothes forcefully removed from his person then found himself wrapped into a blanket and Grun went the whole way of drying his hair with a huge towel until Tiren cried out and stared at the Salamander with a wounded look. Grun stayed unaffected but left him alone.  
“Don’t tell me you want to catch any kind of cold, your Scaleness”, he added almost mockingly in the end, pushing a cup of hot tea into Tiren’s hands. “So, what should I be grateful to for such an unexpected visit?” Grun inquired, sitting down onto the fireplace rug as well and looking at his guest.  
“I was just heading to the castle when it started raining”, Tiren muttered, his cheeks flaring again as he lied. He was almost sorry for his impulse and inability to find some proper excuse beforehand.  
“Of course, your Scaleness”, Grun offered with a smile, taking the cup away from the Price.  
Tiren hugged himself to get warmer and started to inspect every single scale on the end of his still bluish tail. The blanket was not helping much, maybe he should ask for another one.  
The Prince opened his mouth to do so as two arms wrapped around his waist, bringing him closer to the hot body. Probably even too hot for his taste.  
“I wanted to thank you for saving me yesterday”, Tiren stated, not sure whether to draw closer or push away. He was actually rather fine with being warmed that way.  
“Uh, so that’s the purpose of your visit, your Scaleness?”  
Tiren blushed again, becoming aware of the fact that he had revealed himself. Turning away he wondered how Grun was still capable of calling him with an honorific though they were locked in such a tight embrace a mere peasant and a royal would have never been in. Even if the matter was all pragmatic.  
“Is there something you wish to get as a reward?” Tiren spoke up, hastily recalling what was in his power to offer. Not much, but he could improvise.  
“At the moment – nothing”, Grun interrupted him firmly, leaning over his shoulder to check his forehead for temperature. “To bed with you, your Scaleness, since you can’t travel at night”.  
“What?” Tiren was startled to hear that all of a sudden. “I occupy your bed too much”, he added shyly immediately.  
“It’s too small for two and a bench would leave your body all sore. You insist on visiting yet you try to seem as unobtrusive as possible”.  
Tiren broke the embrace and stood up, trying to make a royal pose and failing because he suspected he looked foolish, draped in a blanket from head to feet.  
“Am I being a bother?” the Prince inquired in a tone that was nothing less than demanding and showing that the positive answer would assure something to break.  
Grun merely shrugged his shoulders, unaffected again.  
“Not at all, your Scaleness, I like having guests”.  
After being tucked into bed like a naughty child, his cheeks burning, Tiren looked at Grun who was moving a chair to sit next to the bed.  
“Why did you help me in the first place?” he asked, averting his gaze.  
“I am a healer; I am supposed to help people”, Grun smirked, looming over the arm of his armchair as if somebody made him do his job and now he was reflecting on his revenge against them.  
“Hm”, Tiren hid his face under the blanket. So it was not a lucky rescue, after all, and the Salamander found him as boring as what he was doing.  
Another person who was going to mock him since he did not show him his place beforehand. A servant would have been better than a preaching brother.  
Grun was smirking again; the Prince must have looked funny with only his puppy eyes visible over the edge of the blanket.  
“I am sleeping”, Tiren announced in a muffled voice, annoyed with his thoughts and the fact that they were most likely truthful.  
“You’d better, your Scaleness”, this and a hot hand on his forehead were last things Tiren registered before drifting away into sleep.

***  
“No, I did not!” Tiren shouted and slammed the door of his bedroom, muffling whatever else his family had to imply on his absence.  
Yesterday he had returned in the afternoon, insisting on having breakfast with Grun, which he liked as it lacked all the mannerism he had to suffer in the castle; the fact that the Salamander stood over him and tried to feed him some food that was considered to be healthy notwithstanding though Tiren suspected that all the smirks those dishes were spiced with did something entirely harmful to his mind.  
After his return he had been locked in his room by Oren himself for a day and a night, just in case. In the morning his brothers got second thoughts on the matter and though they forced him to stay in his room no more, Tiren was constantly chased with gossips on whatever had happened during the previous nights.  
A loud knock on the door made him grumble and wish he could lock himself when the matter was pressing. With a glare Tiren flung the door open but thankfully it was a mere servant, trembling with fear, but the Prince suspected that his own looks were not the cause.  
“There is a healer outside that demands to see your Scaleness. We did not wish to bother you, but he doesn’t leave”.  
So Grun was the one who had put terror on the servant’s face. Tiren smirked inwardly, proud of the Salamander for some reason.  
“Show him into my room”, the Prince ordered, slamming the door shut again and dancing to his bed in sheer joy. Then he threw himself on it, suddenly frowning. And what would Grun want, coming into the royal palace and demanding to see him? Tiren started at the thought what his brothers would think if they get to know about his acquaintance and whatever they did together. The prince felt the urge to hide his head under his pillow when the door opened and closed again immediately, maids shrieking something behind it.  
“Your Scaleness”, Grun announced his presence and Tiren sat on the bed, hastily adjusting his attire.  
“What, um, why did you come?” he staggered, not sure what else to say.  
“I figured that I might get something as a reward for saving a prince’s life”, Grun said, coming closer to bed, and Tiren felt intimidated.  
“Um, I… of course”, he managed, wishing Grun would not ask for a lot a money or such as he did not want his brothers to know about the whole matter.  
But the Salamander said nothing else, suddenly leaning in and claiming Tiren’s mouth. The Prince squeaked, clearly not expecting any of it but Grun did not withdraw and he surrendered, feeling pliant in the arms that steadied him by shoulders.  
Tiren breathlessly gasped for air and leaned against Grun’s chest, searching for a crutch.  
“You said you wanted nothing”.  
“I gave the matter the second thought and changed my mind”, Grun clearly smirked, ruffling the Prince’s hair. “So, can you grant me that?”  
They parted a bit and the Prince stared at Grun though he could not prevent more and more color from flooding his cheeks.  
“I don’t… know…yet”, he tried, lifting his palms and rubbing them over his face to ease the blush a little.  
“So you are who my brother is sleeping with?” Daren’s voice came from the door and Tiren jumped and reached for Grun’s hand feeling ashamed of his brother and afraid that the Salamander might get third thoughts and leave.  
“It’s not…” he started rising up from the bed when Grun suddenly drew him into a tight embrace.  
“Your Scaleness. Might that be that you are jealous of your brother?”  
“What are you implying?!” Daren bellowed but Tiren could not care less as he was pressed against one of the bed stands and Grun was invading his mouth again. The Salamander’s knee was thrust between his thighs and the last thing the Prince had registered from the outside world was a choking sound his brother made before fleeing.

***  
“What are you going to do now?” Tiren inquired in a small voice when he could proceed sensible thoughts again.  
They were lying on the Prince’s bed, Grun musing on something to charge by the look on his face and idly caressing Tiren’s cheekbone.  
“Scare away your brothers so that I could get my reward fully”, the Salamander drawled, nipping on the Prince’s neck, making him shiver and blush yet again. “Let’s go, I want to see them”, Grun snatched Tiren’s palm to drag him off the bed.  
“W-wait”, the Prince slowed their pace, half-afraid that the Salamander was too anxious. “Are you this pushy with everyone?”  
That earned him a surprised look and then, of course, a smirk. Really, he could already sell those, though he suspected he would rather store them.  
“Of course, your Scaleness. Do you want to monopolize it?”  
Tiren frowned, clinging to Grun’s arm and refusing the joke to lead him away.  
“Does it mean… do you l-like me?”  
There was that awful blush again; he should probably train to get rid of it or something. Though the way Grun leaned in to plant kisses on his already nearly steaming cheek reassured Tiren a bit.  
“I wouldn’t have saved you if I hadn’t”, the Salamander offered, straightening again.  
“You mean… then already?.. Is it an old thing?” Sun, how embarrassing. Were there people who could talk freely about such matters? Wait, there were. One of them was standing right in front of him. Tiren gave in and hid his face against Grun’s chest, hoping it was alright.  
Laughter rumbled through his ears; apparently the Salamander had found his question no more than amusing.  
“I saw you riding a house and dropping into the river. And it took me three days to gain obnoxiousness enough to terrorize the Palace”.  
“Look who’s talking about obnoxiousness”, Tiren muttered, ungluing from Grun.  
“Well, it was more like deciding whether you were worth it or not”.  
“Am I?” Tiren blinked, waiting to be cheapened again.  
“I am here, aren’t I?” the Salamander bowed lowly as the Prince had never expected him to be capable of, so he felt shy again all of a sudden.  
Then he was tugged out of the room and left to slowly come to his senses while Grun was terrifying every servant that was passing by with his glares.  
“Lead the way?” the Salamander offered when he was satisfied with the emptiness of the passage.

***  
“Um, mother?” Tiren asked sheepishly, looking at the Queen who was the last person he wished to meet right now. Really, it was his brothers’ favorite spot, what was their parent doing here?  
The Queen looked up from where she was embroidering something on a cloth near the railing of the grand balcony.  
“What are you doing, my son?” she asked dramatically and rolled her eyes. “I thought I gave you a better upbringing”.  
“Um”, Tiren tried to interrupt but he did not know how to talk to his mother – of course, she was feigning it but he could hurt her anyway saying something like ‘shut up, mother’. The Prince looked at Grun weakly but the Salamander had only bowed to the Queen and otherwise stayed dead silent.  
“You are breaking my heart”, his mother emphasized the phrase waving her hands, when a polite cough came from behind, interrupting the scene and making the Queen stand up with a pout and take her leave.  
Tiren whirled around to see his savior.  
“Your Shinity”, Grun stirred at his side and the Prince scowled, realizing that it were his brothers.  
“You must be the healer everyone is talking about”, Oren offered with a nod, accepting Grun’s greeting. “It is strange they don’t mention you are a Salamander”.  
“I thought everyone was talking about something else”, Grun responded politely but Tiren was sure he heard a taunt in the Salamander’s voice as he glanced at wincing Daren who was fidgeting on his feet behind the King.  
“Yes, I’ve heard that much”, Oren snorted, coming nearer, and Tiren clung to Grun’s arm, hating the thought that someone might take him away.  
Everything had happened all of a sudden, of course, but the Prince was drawn to the Salamander a lot as he could rather safely admit to himself.  
“You have to understand my side in this, Salamander; it is my brother we are talking about”, Oren went on almost blankly but it seemed like he meant what he said.  
“Of course, your Shinity”, Grun agreed with the same nonchalance. “We have not even done anything yet, if it helps your peace of mind”.  
Tiren cringed at how the Salamander was talking to the King though personally he admired the scene and nodded with an obvious pout.  
“I am nineteen already, you know. I can decide for myself”.  
“Theoretically”, both Oren and Grun muttered under their breath and Tiren stared at them appalled.  
“You are supposed to take my side!” he gaped at Grun, starting to suspect the palace was affecting the healer as well.  
“Am I?” Grun inquired, looking slightly curious. “Since when?”  
Tiren felt his blood deciding to boil in his veins at that and he turned on his heels, tasting bitterness deep in his throat. For one second he thought Grun hurried after him as he was leaving but when the Prince looked back, he saw him still talking to the King.

***  
Dropping onto the top of his bed, Tiren punched his pillow angrily a couple of times. Maybe it was just the matter of the reward and he was young enough to fall for the way Grun had kissed him and touched him, as if imprinting himself in Tiren, firmly and gently at the same time. And the Prince thought it was the understanding and the care he had always supposed lovers were to have. And since he expected those he was spoilt enough to demand them. And it was all Grun’s fault. Now Tiren saw it – it was easy to say whatever the Salamander had without embarrassment when he never meant it in the first place. And Tiren just refused to regret it. It had started fast; it would end even faster. Good riddance.  
The Prince tried to suppress the spasms in his throat without any success, recalling in the very last moment he had not cried even when the river was about to engulf him whole. His shoulders shook and Tiren hugged the pillow with all his might. Something hot wrapped around his body and small kisses covered his wet check as he turned to Grun to snarl and free himself. Which he failed to do as the Salamander started taking his mouth in one kiss after another, none of them the same and Tiren squirmed helplessly, trying at least answer him back the best he could. But his ‘best’ had only existed for an hour or so and soon the Prince was completely breathless and flushed, panting heavily and attempting to conceal whatever effect Grun was causing on his body.  
“I hate you!” he managed, already pliant and forgiving but still fighting to gain himself confidence.  
“Do you really?” Grun asked softly, his hands exploring Tiren’s side and thigh gently in an undemanding caress.  
Tiren wanted to snap that yes, he really did but something in Grun’s tone made him blush and squeeze out:  
“Well, maybe I like you… a-a bit!” he reached out shyly to wrap his tail against the Salamander’s.  
Grun laughed with what the Prince thought was relief and traveled the hand back up Tiren’s body, making his breath hitch and skin become sensitive all of a sudden.  
“Do you have any sense of decency?” the Prince inquired, curling his hand around Grun’s shoulders to bring their bodies together, juncture to juncture.  
“None whatsoever”, Grun chuckled, this time showing how true it was by pressing Tiren into the bed covers.  
The Prince had just enough time to think that he was grateful for the nature that created Grun thus, though he could easily make a Prince himself. Because that way they would have never met.


End file.
